System and method for provisioning a remote resource for an electronic device

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a system and method of provisioning a resource to an electronic device. The method comprises the steps of: (a) maintaining a library of resources at a remote server from the device; (b) after a triggering event, providing a data transmission to the device, the data transmission containing access information for the library that can be extracted by the device and used to access the library; and (c) after a selection event initiated on the device for a specific resource from the library, providing a second data transmission to the device, the second data transmission containing a copy of the specific resource. The system provides a server, a resource, a device and a communication link incorporating the method.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to providing a resource, such as data,information, text or a file, to a communication device. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to a system and method forprovisioning remote resources through a central server for the device.

BACKGROUND

Mobile communication devices allow their users to communicate withothers in more flexible ways and at more flexible times. Devices haveoutput systems (e.g. displays and speakers) to generate audio and visualsignals to the user. Visual information and enunciations generated ondisplays can notify the user of certain events (e.g. receipt of anemail). Similarly, audio enunciators generated through a speaker cannotify the user of other events (e.g. an incoming telephone call).

A device has limited capabilities to customize such audio/visualsignals. Many devices have limited libraries of data files, screenimages and audio clips that can be optionally activated and selectivelyused by the device. However, retention of such files on the device takesup valuable memory storage. Further such local files present a staticset of files that cannot be expanded or changed.

It is desirable to provide an improved system and method for providingsuch files to one or more electronic devices.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect, a method of provisioning a resource to an electronicdevice is provided. The method comprises the steps of: (a) maintaining alibrary of resources at a remote server from the device; (b) after atriggering event, providing a data transmission to the device, the datatransmission containing access information for the library that can beextracted by the device and used to access the library; and (c) after aselection event initiated on the device for a specific resource from thelibrary, providing a second data transmission to the device, the seconddata transmission containing a copy of the specific resource.

In the method after step (c), the access information may be incorporatedinto a graphical user interface (GUI) associated with an applicationoperating on the device.

In the method, the application may use the access information to provideoptions for retrieving different resources for different contexts forthe application.

In the method, after step (c), the device may store the copy of thespecific resource in its internal memory and associates the specificresource with an application operating on the device.

In the method, the specific resource may relate to an audible signalselectively generated by the application operating on the device.Alternatively, the specific resource may relate to an image to beselectively generated by the application. Alternatively still, thespecific resource may relate to a theme for backgrounds relating todisplays generated by the application.

In the method, a second library of resources may be maintained; thedevice may have access to the second library and to second accessinformation relating to the second library; and the GUI operating on thedevice may display the access information and the second accessinformation in an order based on a ranking scheme.

In the method, third access information differing from the accessinformation may be provided where it relates to the library ofresources, but is provided to a second device.

In a second aspect, a system for provisioning a resource to anelectronic device is provided. The system comprises: a library ofresources for the device; a server providing maintenance for thelibrary; a communication link providing the device with access to thelibrary; a data transmission module for extracting access informationabout the library and selectively providing the access information tothe device in a data transmission through the communication link; and adata processing module for receiving the data transmission and updatingaccess information in the device for the resource. In the system, aftera triggering event, the data transmission module provides the accessinformation to the device; after a selection event initiated on thedevice for a specific resource from the library, a second datatransmission is provided to the device containing a copy of the specificresource; and the specific resource is incorporated into a graphicaluser interface (GUI) associated with an application operating on thedevice.

In the system, the application may use the access information to provideoptions for retrieving different resources for different contexts forthe application.

In the system, the device may store the copy of the specific resource inits internal memory and may associate the resource with the applicationoperating on the device.

In the system the resource may relate to an audible signal selectivelygenerated by the application operating on the device.

In the system, the specific resource may relate to an image to beselectively generated by the application operating on the device.Alternatively, the specific resource may relate to a theme forbackgrounds relating to displays generated by the application.

The system may further comprise a second library of resources, whereinthe device has access to the second library and is provided with secondaccess information relating to the second library; and the GUI operatingon the device displays the access information and the second accessinformation in an order based on a ranking scheme.

In the system, third access information may be provided differing fromthe access information, but related to the library of resources, wherethe third information relates to a electronic second device.

Additional features and aspects of the invention are described in thefollowing description of several exemplary embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a library system including a remotelibrary server providing access to a library of files to an electronicdevice as per an embodiment;

FIG. 2A is an exemplary screen image produced on a display of the deviceof FIG. 1 when an option application operating on the device isaccessing a remote library server of the system;

FIG. 2B is another exemplary screen image produced on a display of thedevice of FIG. 1 when the option application is accessing another remotelibrary server of the system;

FIG. 2C is still another exemplary screen image produced on a display ofthe device of FIG. 1 when the option application is accessing yetanother remote library server of the system;

FIG. 2D is still another exemplary screen image produced on a display ofthe device of FIG. 1 when an email application is accessing yet anotherremote library server of the system;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of internal components of the device of FIG.1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5A is a flow chart of exemplary processes and executed by thelibrary server in the system of FIG. 4;

FIG. 5B is a flow chart of exemplary processes executed by the device tomonitor for and process access information provided by the libraryserver in the system of FIG. 4;

FIG. 5C is a flow chart of exemplary processes executed by the device tomonitor for and process a resource downloaded from the library server inthe system of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of another system that may be used to providea library server to the device of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides a system and method for providing aremote library of resources to an electronic device. Typically, althoughnot necessarily, the device is a mobile, wireless communication device.The associated library is dynamically provided to the device from aremote source, such as a server. As such, the library may be dynamicallymaintained, updated and changed at the remote source, thereby providingthe device (and other devices accessing the library) with common set ofdata and information for that library.

First, a description is provided relating to a device that accesses alibrary managed by an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, an electronicdevice for receiving electronic communications, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention is indicated generally at 10. In the presentembodiment, electronic device 10 is based on a computing platform havingfunctionality of an enhanced personal digital assistant with cellphone,web-browsing and e-mail features. Such functionalities are providedthrough software and firmware modules operating on device 10. It is,however, to be understood that electronic device 10 can be based onconstruction, design and functions of other electronic devices, such assmart telephones, desktop computers pagers or laptops having telephonyequipment. In a present embodiment, electronic device 10 includes, ahousing 12, which frames an LCD display 14, a speaker 16, an LEDindicator 18, a trackwheel 20, an exit key 22, keypad 24 and a telephoneheadset comprised of an ear bud 28 and a microphone 30. Trackwheel 20and exit key 22 can be inwardly depressed along the path of arrow “A” asa means to provide additional user-input. Keypad 24 is shown as a matrixof three rows of keys with each row having ten keys. In otherembodiments a directional key can be provided (not shown), where it is a“rocker”-type key that has a center rest position and can be tilted ormoved from its rest position in one of several directions (e.g. up,down, left or right, when viewing the front of device 10) to activate aprogrammed function associated with the direction of activation. Ajoystick or a rollerball input device may also be provided instead or inaddition to a directional key.

Remote resource 32 is managed and maintained by library server 34.Resource 32 may be a file, data or a combination of other resources.Resource management software operating on server 34 allows resource 32to be updated and information, including access information, aboutresource 32 to be extracted and distributed to device 10. The softwareoperating on device 10 provides a GUI interface allowing the user topreview resources 32 and selectively download and store individualresources into device 10. In one embodiment, the GUI is provided as aweb page viewed through a web browser on device 10. It will beappreciated that in other embodiments, other access and displaytechniques can be used to show remote resources on device 10. When aresource is to be downloaded, server 34 extracts a copy of the resource32 from its database and encapsulates it into one or more data packets38 and provides the packets to a transmission interface of communicationnetwork 36 for conversion and transmission to one or more devices 10.The resource management software allows a user at the server to updateand manage the content and associated text and links for resource 32.The software may also control or signal when a data transmission shouldbe created and provided to one or more devices 10. Any trigger mayinitiate the data transmission, including a change in resource 32, achange in the network or detection of any new devices to the network. Itwill be appreciated that the devices may be notified of changes or newresources 32 by other communication methods. For example, in anotherembodiment, the management software may generate and send an emailmessage to device 10 containing a notification of the new content andaccess link for resource 32. Alternatively, a specific backgroundtransmission may be sent to device 10 that is received and processed bydevice 10 without any interaction by its user. The transmission mayinclude a command to update a text message in a GUI of an application toindicate that new content is available. For example, the command mayproduce a special “*” flag in the GUI that indicates the presence of thenew content. Other commands and messages may be provided. Thereafter,the software can forward data packets 38 to a transmission interface ofcommunication network 36 for conversion and transmission to one or moredevices 10. Network 36 may provide a wired connection, a wirelessconnection or a combination of both between server 34 and device 10.Each server can be identified via individual identification tags. Accessinformation for device 10 required to communicate with each server canbe individually controlled by each server 34.

The embodiment allows different servers to provide different resources32 to device 10. The embodiment provides several library servers 34including a registration server, a corporate mobile data service (MDS)server, a public MDS server, a generic provisioning server, a wirelessapplication protocol (WAP) server and regular Web servers, contentservers or application servers. Each server can manage differentresources and as such different image, tone and theme resources. Eachserver may be positioned at different access points within thecommunication network(s) for device 10 (e.g. behind firewalls,incorporated with local corporate servers, incorporated with specificcarriers for wireless/wired services, incorporated with a genericservices for multiple carriers, etc.). As such, different servers canprovide different levels of security, access and speed of access whenproviding resources to devices 10. Each server may also have differentprotocols for providing their access information to device 10.

Further detail is provided on device 10. Device 10 has componentstherein to receive such data packets 38 from network 36 and to extractand process data from any received data packets 38. The data extractedfrom data packets 38 is used by applications operating on device 10.

Various applications are provided on device 10, including email,telephone, calendar, web browsing and address book applications that mayuse one or more of the remote resources maintained by server 34. Asnoted earlier, the resources may provide screen images, a set ofspecific background images and colour palettes for screen schemes andaudible ring tone. One or more applications can be used to review,access and download the resources and to incorporate them into thetarget application.

A graphical user interface (GUI) to activate these applications isprovided on display 14 through a series of icons 26. Some of the shownicons include telephone icon 26A, calendar icon 26C, address book icon26D, email icon 26E, web browser icon 26G and option icon 26F. Suchapplications can be selected and activated using the keypad 24 and/orthe trackwheel 20 to navigate through icons 26 and individuallyhighlight same. Cursor 40 provides a visual cue for each icon as itindicates what icon 26 is currently being “highlighted” as the icons arebeing navigated.

In the embodiment, one access interface provided for resource 32 ondevice 10 is through a specific application. As a particular embodiment,option application 48F (FIG. 3) provides a GUI for configuringoperational parameters of device 10 (e.g. local time displaypreferences, font sizes etc.). Option application also provides menuoptions to access resources 32 for additional (external) libraries forscreen savers, ring tones, themes and other resources. When a particularmenu option for a library is accessed, a new GUI is generated on device10 to allow the user to navigate through the contents of the library andselect and download an entry. The GUI for accessing resource 32 ispreferably provided via a website that is remotely maintained by theserver 34 associated with resource 32. Access information to the websiteis provided to device 10 through a universal resource link (URL)pointing to the web site. The URL is stored in device 10 and is providedto the web browser application on device 10 when the corresponding menuoption is activated. As such, server 34 provides access to resource 32to one or more devices 10 and allows resource 32 to be centrallymanaged, maintained and distributed.

Additionally or alternatively, resources can be provided through otherGUIs: for example, additional background images may be provided througha link in a Pictures application (not shown). More generally, theembodiment allows application-specific provisioning of links toresources for any of the applications on the device.

Further still, the access information for resource 32 may be integratedwith specific applications operating on device 10. As such, applicationscan access resources 32 and their libraries to provide specific,contextual libraries presented to the user in the context of thoseapplications. As such, a resource 32, text relating to the resource andaccess information for resource 32 can be integrated with the GUI of oneor more applications, such that the resource effectively becomes anextension to those applications (as opposed to generic,non-application-specific, downloadable content), thereby providing theability to extend the look and feel of those applications, dynamically,in the field.

Turning back to some general access mechanisms for a resource 32, when awebsite for a resource 32 is being navigated through a web browser andthe user identifies and selects a particular resource 32 to bedownloaded to device 10, the GUI links the particular resource to anaccess request for the resource. The browser then generates anappropriate access request to download the resource. Other embodimentsmay provide control handed back to the application for the actualdownload the resource. In such a configuration, a command would begenerated by the application to download the particular resource and thecommand is sent to server 34.

In any event, once the download command is received by server 34, server34 prepares a copy of the resource and transmits it to device 10 throughcommunication network 36. Device 10 receives the transmitted copy of theresource and stores it in its local non-volatile memory. Thenappropriate links are updated to the applications operating on device 10to use that resource, as required.

FIGS. 2A-2C provide exemplary images from different websites whendifferent remote libraries are being accessed. In FIG. 2A, an exemplaryscreen shot 200 generated on display 14 when a user has selected themenu option to review the screen saver library. As shown, the user ofdevice 10 can navigate through a selection of screen images (shown asthumbnail images 202B, 204B and 206B) and selectively download one ormore to device 10. Text notes 202A, 204A and 206A provide additionalinformation about the thumbnail images. In FIG. 2B, an exemplary screenshot 208 generated on display 14 when a user has selected the menuoption to review the ring tone library. Thumbnail images 210B, 212B and214B are provided for three different ring tones with accompanying textnotes 210A, 212A and 214A. In FIG. 2C, an exemplary screen shot 216generated on display 14 when a user has selected the menu option toreview the themes library. Thumbnail images 218B, 220B and 222B areprovided for three theme sets (e.g. colour palettes) with accompanyingtext notes 218A, 220A and 222A.

FIG. 2D provides an exemplary image from one or more websites whendifferent remote libraries are being accessed during by a specificapplication. Using email application 48E as an example, different tonesand background images from remote resources 32 may be accessed, thenretrieved and locally stored in device 10. Specific images or ring toneor other resources may be used to reflect a current state in theapplication. For example, when viewing incoming emails, the backgroundimage may be set to be one image and when viewing saved emails, adifferent image may be used. Exemplary screen shot 224 generated ondisplay 14 when a user has selected the menu option to review thebackground image library for the email application. As shown, the userof device 10 first selects a context for a background image throughselection 226. Then the user can select one of several screen images(shown as thumbnail images 228B, 230B and 232B) and selectively downloadone or more to device 10. Text notes 228A, 230A and 232A provideadditional information about the thumbnail images. In other embodiments,several types of resources may be shown in the web page (e.g. backgroundimages, themes, audio clips), that may be selectively downloaded toprovide visual/audible cues for different contexts for the application.

Referring to FIG. 3, details on functional elements of device 10 areprovided. The functional elements are generally electronic orelectro-mechanical devices. In particular, microprocessor 18 is providedto control and receive almost all data, transmissions, inputs andoutputs related to device 10. Microprocessor 18 is shown schematicallyas coupled to keypad 24, display 14 and other internal devices.Microprocessor 18 controls the operation of the display 14, as well asthe overall operation of the device 10, in response to actuation of keyson the keypad 24 by a user. Exemplary microprocessors for microprocessor18 include Data 950 (trade-mark) series microprocessors and the 6200series microprocessors, all available from Intel Corporation.

In addition to the microprocessor 18, other internal devices of thedevice 10 include: a communication subsystem 41; a short-rangecommunication subsystem 43; keypad 24; and display 14; with otherinput/output devices including a set of auxiliary I/O devices throughport 45, a serial port 47, a speaker 16 and a microphone port 32 formicrophone 30; as well as memory devices including a flash memory 42(which provides persistent storage of data) and random access memory(RAM) 44; clock 46 and other device subsystems (not shown). The device10 is preferably a two-way radio frequency (RF) communication devicehaving voice and data communication capabilities. In addition, device 10preferably has the capability to communicate with other computer systemsvia the Internet.

Operating system software executed by microprocessor 18 is preferablystored in a computer readable medium, such as flash memory 42, but maybe stored in other types of memory devices, such as read only memory(ROM) or similar storage element. In addition, system software, specificdevice applications, or parts thereof, may be temporarily loaded into avolatile storage medium, such as RAM 44. Communication signals receivedby the mobile device may also be stored to RAM 44.

Microprocessor 18, in addition to its operating system functions,enables execution of software applications on device 10. A set ofsoftware applications 48 that control basic device operations, such as avoice communication module 48A and a data communication module 48B, maybe installed on the device 10 during manufacture or downloadedthereafter.

Communication functions, including data and voice communications, areperformed through the communication subsystem 41 and the short-rangecommunication subsystem 43. Collectively, subsystem 41 and subsystem 43provide the signal-level interface for all communication technologiesprocessed by device 10. Various other applications 48 provide theoperational controls to further process and log the communications.Communication subsystem 41 includes receiver 50, transmitter 52 and oneor more antennas, illustrated as receive antenna 54 and transmit antenna56. In addition, communication subsystem 41 also includes processingmodule, such as digital signal processor (DSP) 58 and local oscillators(LOs) 60. The specific design and implementation of communicationsubsystem 41 is dependent upon the communication network in which device10 is intended to operate. For example, communication subsystem 41 ofthe device 10 may be designed to operate with the Mobitex (trade-mark),DataTAC (trade-mark) or General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) mobile datacommunication networks and also designed to operate with any of avariety of voice communication networks, such as Advanced Mobile PhoneService (AMPS), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Code DivisionMultiple Access CDMA, Personal Communication Service (PCS), GlobalSystem for Mobile Communication (GSM), etc. Communication subsystem 41provides device 10 with the capability of communicating with otherdevices using various communication technologies, including instantmessaging (IM) systems, text messaging (TM) systems and short messageservice (SMS) systems.

In addition to processing communication signals, DSP 58 provides controlof receiver 50 and transmitter 52. For example, gains applied tocommunication signals in receiver 50 and transmitter 52 may beadaptively controlled through automatic gain control algorithmsimplemented in DSP 58.

In a data communication mode a received signal, such as a text messageor web page download, is processed by the communication subsystem 41 andis provided as an input to microprocessor 18. The received signal isthen further processed by microprocessor 18 which can then generate anoutput to the display 14 or to an auxiliary I/O port 45. A user may alsocompose data items, such as e-mail messages, using keypad 24, athumbwheel associated with keypad 24, and/or some other auxiliary I/Odevice connected to port 45, such as a touchpad, a rocker key, aseparate thumbwheel or some other input device. The composed data itemsmay then be transmitted over communication network 68 via communicationsubsystem 41.

In a voice communication mode, overall operation of device 10 issubstantially similar to the data communication mode, except thatreceived signals are output to speaker 16, and signals for transmissionare generated by microphone 30. Alternative voice or audio I/Osubsystems, such as a voice message recording subsystem, may also beimplemented on device 10.

Short-range communication subsystem 43 enables communication betweendevice 10 and other proximate systems or devices, which need notnecessarily be similar devices. For example, the short-rangecommunication subsystem may include an infrared device and associatedcircuits and components, or a Bluetooth (trade-mark) communicationmodule to provide for communication with similarly-enabled systems anddevices. A WiFi connection may also be provided.

Powering the entire electronics of the mobile handheld communicationdevice is power source 62. Preferably, the power source 62 includes oneor more batteries. More preferably, the power source 62 is a singlebattery pack, especially a rechargeable battery pack. A power switch(not shown) provides an “on/off” switch for device 10. Upon activationof the power switch an application 48 is initiated to turn on device 10.Upon deactivation of the power switch, an application 48 is initiated toturn off device 10. Power to device 10 may also be controlled by otherdevices and by internal software applications.

Brief descriptions are provided on exemplary applications 48 stored andexecuted in device 10. Each application may use a locally storedresource (e.g. a screen saver image, ring tone, theme palette) toprovide an audio/visual notification for device 10 indicating someevent. For example, a resource may be a default background image that isselectively generated on display 14 under certain conditions (e.g. atimeout screen). Additionally, the resource may provide some parametersfor preferred display or audio themes generated for applications ondevice 10. For example, a resource may be a provide colour codeinformation for backgrounds, borders and windows generated on display14. Generically, the resource provides a parameter that controls how orwhat is generated as an output on device 10. An application may utilizelocally stored resources for a parameter. However, the locally storedresources can be changed to a different resource through resource 32.Device 10 has routines in its applications that will detect when aresource has been downloaded and will correctly associate the resourcewith the appropriate functions for a related application. These routinesmay also be provided in part by the option application. Further detailis provided on some applications and their use of resources to controlspecific parameters of the applications.

As noted, voice communication module 48A enables device 10 to receiveand initiate (wireless) telephone calls. Module 48A can be activated byactivation of telephone icon 26 on display 14. Module 48A may utilize alocally stored ring tone to generate an audio signal whenever anincoming call is received. The locally stored ring tone can be changedto a different ring tone provided through resource 32. Optionapplication 48F may have routines that will detect when a new ring tonehas been downloaded and will correctly associate the downloaded ringtone with the appropriate functions of the application.

Calendar 48C tracks appointments and other status matters relating tothe user and device 10. Calendar 48C provides a daily/weekly/monthelectronic schedule of appointments, meetings and events entered by theuser using processor 18 and internal clock 46. The schedule containsdata relating to the current accessibility of the user. For example itcan indicate when the user is busy, not busy, available or notavailable. In use, calendar 48C generates input screens on device 10prompting the user to input scheduled events through keypad 24.Alternatively, notification for scheduled events could be received viaan encoded signal in a received communication, such as an e-mail, SMSmessage or voicemail message. Once the data relating to the event isentered, calendar 48C stores processes information relating to theevent; generates data relating to the event; and stores the data inmemory in device 10. Customized screens, icons, enunciator tones andtext may be provided for calendar 48C for its audio and visualnotification routines via resource 32.

Address book 48D enables device 10 to store contact information forpersons and organizations. Address book 48D is activated by activationof address book icon 26 on display 14. In particular, name, address,telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, cellphone numbers and other contactinformation is stored. The data can be entered through keypad 24 and isstored in an accessible a database in non-volatile memory, such aspersistent storage 70, which is associated with microprocessor 18, orany other electronic storage provided in device 10. Customized screens,icons and text may be provided for address book 48D via resource 32.

Email application 48E provides modules to allow user of device 10 togenerate email messages on device 10 and send them to their addressees.Application 48E also provides a GUI which provides a historical list ofemails received, drafted, saved and sent. Text for emails can be enteredthrough keypad 24. Email application 48E is activated by activation ofemail icon 26 on display 14. Customized screens, icons and text may beprovided for email application 48E via resource 32.

Option application 48F is an application that provides a GUI for a userto review and change configuration options and retrieve operatinginformation about device 10. Values for some options can be manuallyentered by the user through the GUI. Other options may be selected froma library of files. The option application provides access to a GUI toallow the user to browse through resources 32, select one or moreresources 32 for downloading and storage into local memory in device 10and manage integration of the downloaded resources into the effectedapplications of device 10. It will be appreciated that the effectedapplication may also be the main GUI of device 10.

Browser application 48G is an application that can access informationfrom the Internet (such as HTML or active documents) or an intranet, aswell as folders in the local file system and on a network and generateresults on display 14. Such applications are known in the art. If a link(as an address) to a web site is provided by another application tobrowser 48G, it will search the Internet or intranet (as relevant) forthe web site associated with the link.

The URLs (or other access information for the resources 32) may beprovided to device 10 through several mechanisms. One simple mechanismis manual entry and storage of the access information into device 10through a user input screens. The screen prompt the user to enter therelevant links and text manually through input dialog boxes. Once thedata elements are entered, they are processed and stored in thenon-volatile memory. Then the resource (and its related information) canbe accessed by device 10 as necessary through the GUI noted above. Thismechanism requires the user to have accurate knowledge of the dataelements.

A more preferable mechanism is to download the access information intodevice 10. The access information may be generated at server 34 thenprovided in a data packet(s) 38 to device 10. An interface softwaremodule operating on device 10 receives the data packet(s) 38, thenextracts the relevant access information from the packet(s) and storesthe access information in non-volatile memory of device 10. For theembodiment, the data packet 38 is provided in a transmitted servicerecord, which is a transmittable data structure containing set field(s)where the access information is encoded therein. As such, expectedaccess information can be extracted from the packet(s) by device 10.Once a service record is received by device 10, it can extract theaccess information from it and then update its GUIs to selectivelyidentify and initiate access to the web site.

It will be appreciated that service records may contain additionalparameters that can be used by device 10. Some parameters may bereferences to resources 32 that can be associated either with the deviceor with specific applications on the device. Such parameters may be inthe form of content (such as, but not limited to, HTML or WML links)that are compatible with the display capabilities of device 10. However,such parameters may also be data, such as just an URL and descriptivetext associated with each external resource 32 (and possibly anidentifier to describe which application(s) on the device eachparticular link applies to). In such cases, the applications operatingon device 10 may make those resources available to the user separately(such as via a menu item in an application that will access the contentindicated by the resource).

In an alternative embodiment, the resource itself may be provided via alink to a FTP site, where the resource can be downloaded, stored andintegrated into the operating parameters for the audio/visual systems ondevice 10.

It will be seen that a data packet (including a service record) can begenerated by server 34 associated with the resource 32, which can thenencode and transmit the data packet through its associated communicationnetwork to one or more devices 10. Transmission of a service record maybe provided based on predetermined conditions. One transmissioncondition may be the detection of a new device 10 within thetransmission capabilities of the communication network 36. For awireless communication network the transmission capabilities may be setby the transmission range of the network. For a wired communicationnetwork, the transmission capabilities may be limited to the devices 10that are connected to predetermined access points to the network.

Another transmission condition may be to periodically generate andbroadcast the service record to all devices 10 that are in transmissioncapabilities of the communication network. For example, the servicerecord may be sent whenever the server initiates a change to theresource.

Service records for one or more resources 32 may be provided through oneor more servers 34. Each library servers can communicate with device 10to selectively provide a service record to device 10 through itsassociated communication network 36. To assist in identifying libraryservers 34, each server 34 can be provided with a unique identificationaddress to identify it to devices 10 and other servers 34. The servicerecord may contain a series of WML and HTML pages that displayinformation for the user and allow the user to provide data using abrowser application installed on the device. It will be appreciated thatdifferent service records may be provided to different devices from aparticular server 34. For example, a particular server can providedifferent web sites for different devices 10 and the service recordswould provide specific web sites to different devices 10.

One feature of an embodiment provides a selectable prioritizationprotocol when two or more resources 32 are provided from one or moreservers 34. When two or more service records 38 are received by device10, the prioritization protocol, if implemented, ranks the accessinformation in service records 38 according to a preset ranking scheme.Following the scheme, the presentation arrangement in the GUI for thereceived and extracted links from the service records may be presentedin an order reflecting the ranking. In some instances where there is aconflict or ranking of resources between two or more service records,only a subset of the service records may be used and presented in theGUI. It will be appreciated that the protocol may be based on severalfactors including a relative trustworthiness of library server,redundancy of information provided by one resource in view of theavailability of another resource from another server, speed of accessfrom a server, etc.

Based on the received service records 38 and any prioritizationprotocols applied there against, the GUI may be modeled on device 10 toshow the resources in a certain order, show some resources as subgroupsin a menu, not show selected resources or a combination of any rankingtechniques.

As an example of provisioning a resource 32 to device 10, further detailis provided on the processing of a service record 38 received by device10 from a registration server for a communication network 36. Thecommunication network is a wireless network provided by a given carrier.As such, the carrier is offering wireless services to its customers andmay sell, rent or lease devices 10 to its customers. An address isassociated with the registration server to identify the registrationserver in its communication network 36. For devices 10 connecting to thecommunication network 36, the address of the registration server isstored in the device after it is manufactured. Typically, the address ofthe registration server will be designated by the provider of thecommunication network.

Eventually the device 10 is delivered to a user. The user may obtain thedevice from the wireless network operator or from a reseller who sellsthe device on behalf of one of the operator. After obtaining the device,the user enables the communication system of the device. Thecommunication system detects the presence of at least one of thenetworks 36 and uses the stored address of the registration server tosend a registration request to the registration server. The registrationserver, in conjunction with a provisioning server determines whether thedevice may be provisioned with a service record using the presentmethod. If the service record has been provisioned for the devicebefore, or if the device has been designated not to be provisioned withthe associated resource, or if the device has been designated to beprovisioned with the associated resource by an alternate method, theregistration request is denied. If the registration request is approved,the device is provided with a service record 38 generated by server 34relating to resource 32 that contains links and text that enable thedevice 10 to access resource 32. Additional services may also beprovisioned in the record.

In another embodiment, resources may be automatically pushed to device10. For example, a provisioning or registration server may simply pushthe service record to the device, unsolicited, as soon as it detectsthat the device is on the network. The device 10 may send a message tothe server to confirm receipt of the pushed service record via anappropriate message.

Some further aspects of an embodiment will now be described in greaterdetail with reference to FIG. 4, which illustrates a system 100 forprovisioning an associated resource for a mobile communication device10.

System 100 includes a registration server, a provisioning server 106,another library server 34, a subscriber registry 109 and a deviceregistry 118. System 100 is typically operated by a service provider A,which may provide the associated resource itself or which may provisionthe associated resource for device 10 on behalf of another serviceprovider (not shown) that provides the associated resource. In thepresent exemplary embodiment, resource 32 is provided through a web pageprovided by library server 34.

System 100 communicates with device 10 across a network 110, such as theInternet or a local area or wide area network (LAN or WAN). Typically,although not necessarily, device 10 is a wireless communication devicecapable of communicating with network 110 using a wireless communicationnetwork 36, which typically will be operated by a network operator 116.

In this exemplary embodiment, device 10 is operated by a user who is asubscriber of services provided by network operator 116.

In an exemplary embodiment, resource 32 is associated with a server 34,which is provided by a service provider B. In the present exemplaryembodiment, the network operator 116 is also service provider B,although the network operator 116 may be a distinct entity from serviceprovider B.

Network operator 116/Service provider B maintains a primary serviceprovider system 114 for recording information relating to users thatobtain device 10 and/or the resource 34 from service provider B. Inembodiments where the network operator 116 and service provider B aredistinct entities, each of them may maintain separate systems to recordinformation relating to the user and the specific equipment (such asdevice 10) and services and resources (such as the primary resource)that each of them provides to the user.

The components of system 100 may communicate with one another throughnetwork 110 or through another network 120. Furthermore, one or morecomponents of system 100 may operate on a single computer system or maybe integrated into a single server. For example, registration server andprovisioning server 106 may be integrated together or they may operateconcurrently on a single computer system. In other embodiments of thepresent invention, registration server or provisioning server 106 orboth may consist of multiple processes operating on two or morecomputers.

Subscriber registry 109 is used by system 100 to track the status ofsubscribers, who are users of various devices that have subscribed tonetwork access resources offered by network operator 116.

Typically, additional wireless network operators (not shown), likenetwork operator 116, will provide network access services allowingmobile devices to connect to network 110 and to system 100. This isfurther described below. Each of these network operators may providedevices to subscribers of their services. Subscriber registry 109 isused to track the status of all such subscribers and the record for eachsubscriber in subscriber registry 109 may include the identity of thespecific network operator who provides network access services to thesubscriber.

In the present embodiment, subscriber registry 109 has a record for eachsubscriber that is known to system 100. This may include subscribers ofservices and resources provided by network operator 116 (and othernetwork operators) who have not yet provisioned the associated resourcefor use on their mobile devices in addition to subscribers who haveprovisioned the associated resource for use on their mobile devices. Thestatus of a subscriber in subscriber registry 109 may one or more of thefollowing:

Status Meaning Associated resource provisioned The subscriber hasprovisioned the for subscriber associated resource his or her mobiledevice. Associated resource cannot or The subscriber is not permitted towill not be provisioned for use the provisioning method of thesubscriber through the method present invention. It may be possible ofthis invention to provision the resource using a different method.Subscriber known—associated The network operator has reported resourcenot provisioned that the subscriber has subscribed to resources from thenetwork operator, but the subscriber has not yet provisioned theresource for use on his or her mobile device. Subscriber Suspended Thesubscriber device has been suspended or blocked. This may be donebecause the subscriber has failed to pay fees to the network operator orfor other reasons.These status descriptions are only exemplary and additional statuscategories may be used to describe the status of a subscriber. Inaddition, the record for each subscriber may contain additionalinformation related to the resources or services that a subscriber hassubscribed to.

Device registry 118 is used by system 100 to track the status of mobilecommunication devices, such as device 10. All devices for which system100 has provisioned the associated resource have a record in deviceregistry 118. In addition, the device registry 118 may contain recordsfor devices that are capable of having the associated resourceprovisioned for them. Subscriber registry 118 may also contain recordsfor devices for which the associated resource cannot or will not beprovisioned through the method of this invention. The status of a devicemay be one or more of the following:

Status Meaning Associated resource provisioned The associated resourcehas already for device been provisioned for the device. Associatedresource cannot or The device is not permitted to use the will not beprovisioned through provisioning method of the present the method ofthis invention invention. It may be possible to provision the resourceusing a differ- ent method. Device activated—associated The device isknown to have been resource not provisioned activated, but theassociated resource has not been provisioned for it. This status may beused for a device that has been reported as activated by a networkoperator. Device known but not activated The device is known to exist(i.e. the identification code of the device has been assigned to it),but the device has not been activated. Suspended The device has beensuspended or blocked. This may be done because the device has beenreported lost or stolen.These status descriptions are only exemplary and additional statuscategories may be used to describe the status of a device. In someembodiments of the present invention, some of these status descriptionsmay not be used. In addition, the record for each device may containadditional information related to the device's capabilities, otherservices provisioned by service provider A or other service providers,etc. The status of a device in device registry 118 may be set based onadvice from network operator 116. For example, the network operator 118may advise when it has delivered a device to a user, or when a user hasreported a device lost or stolen, or when a device should be suspendedbecause the user has failed to pay required fees, etc.

Returning to the present example, the user obtains the primary servicefrom service provider B, and will enter an arrangement with serviceprovider B relating to the primary service.

The user obtains device 10 and subscribes to wireless network accessservices from network operator 116. The user obtains e-mail service,which is the primary service, from service provider B. As noted above,network operator 116 and service provider B are the same entity, in thisexemplary embodiment.

During manufacturing, device 10 is configured to operate with one ormore types of communication networks. For example, network 36 may be aGPRS network which provides “always-on” communication capabilities formobile devices such as device 10. Device 10 will contain a radio antennaand associated circuitry required to detect the presence of the network36 and to communicate with other components in the network. Device 10may also be configured to operate with other types of networks, such asother GSM networks or CDMA networks. During or after manufacture, device10 will typically also be configured with an identification code such aselectronic serial number (ESN) or an International Mobile EquipmentIdentifier (IMEI) that is typically used for wireless communicationdevices in GSM networks (such as a GPRS network).

In some embodiments, after device 10 has been manufactured, a record maybe created for it subscriber registry 118. If a record is created, thestatus of device 10 will be set to “Device known but not activated”. Inthe present exemplary embodiment, this is not typically done and arecord for the device is not created in the device registry until thedevice is activated.

Referring to FIG. 5A, flow chart 500 shows exemplary steps and processesexecuted by library server 34 in determining how and when to send a newservice record relating to its resource 32 to device 10. After theserver has been activated at step 502, it monitors its triggerconditions to determine whether a trigger condition has been activatedto generate and send a service record at step 504. The condition may bethat an access parameter has changed or that a new device has beendetected or that a timeout condition has occurred. If no triggercondition has occurred, then the process returns to start at step 502.If a trigger condition has occurred, then the resource is analyzed forany new access information and a service record containing theinformation is built at step 506. It will be appreciated that the status“Device Not Yet Provisioned” may also be a trigger that is executed uponinitial startup of a device. Next the service record is provided tocommunication network 36 for conversion to a transmission signal andtransmission to device 10 at step 508. It will be appreciated that inother system other steps may be provided or the steps may be executed ina different order.

Referring to FIG. 5B, flow chart 510 shows exemplary steps and processesexecuted by device 10 in determining when to request a new servicerecord for a resource 32 from server 34 and what to do once a servicerecord is received. After device 10 has been activated at step 512, itchecks whether it has roamed to a new carrier service or if it has notbeen registered with the current carrier service at step 514. If eithercondition is true, it sends a request for a service record through thecarrier at step 516. If neither condition is true, it monitors for thereceipt of new service records at step 518. Once a new service record isreceived (after either step 516 or 518), at step 520, device 10 extractsthe access information from the record. At step 522, all data from allreceived service records from all servers 34 is prioritized. At step524, the data is ranked and any text data associated with the servers tobe populated in the various GUI fields is provided to the GUI.Thereafter, when a user is in option application (or any applicationassociated with the provisioned access information) and activates a menuoption to review an external resource, device 10 retrieves the websiteinformation associated with the resource and provides it to the browserapplication 40G. Browser 40G then fetches and manages the web site pagesas they are retrieved from server 34. It will be appreciated that inother devices, other steps may be provided or the steps may be executedin a different order.

Referring to FIG. 5C, flow chart 526 shows exemplary steps and processesexecuted by device 10 when a resource is being selected for downloading.First, at step 528, device 10 creates and sends a request for aparticular resource 32 from the target library server 34. Then, at step530, device 10 monitors for receipt of the resource 32 overcommunication network 36. In the meantime, server 34 has received therequest and has prepared and transmitted a copy of the resource todevice 10 over network 36. Next, at step 532, device 10 extracts andreassembles the resource from the received data packet(s). Next at step534, the reassembled resource is stored in the non-volatile memory ofdevice 10. Finally, at step 536 device 10 updates applications that canaccess the downloaded resource to use the resource as necessary.

Reference is next made to FIG. 6, which illustrates another system 600that may be used by an embodiment. System 600 is similar to system 100and identical components are given the same reference numeral as insystem 100. System 600 includes a gateway 620 and a provisioning proxy622.

Gateway 620 operates as an interface between device 10 and provisioningserver 106 and associated resource. Gateway 620 may be an assembly ofone or more computer systems that serve to streamline communicationsbetween provisioning server 106 and mobile communication devices such asdevice 10. Similarly, gateway 620 serves to streamline communicationsbetween associated resource provider and mobile communication devices.

Provisioning proxy 622 serves as an interface between gateway 620 andprovisioning server 106, similarly serving to streamline communicationsbetween gateway 620 and provisioning server 106 by, for example,conducting the operation of pushing service records to device 10.Provisioning proxy 622 may also serve to provide secure communicationbetween device 10 and provisioning server 106.

The present invention has been described here by way of example only.Various modification and variations may be made to these exemplaryembodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention, which is limited only by the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A method of provisioning a resource to an electronic devicecomprising the steps of: (a) maintaining a library of resources at aremote server from the device; (b) after a triggering event, providing adata transmission to the device, the data transmission containing accessinformation for the library that can be extracted by the device and usedto access the library; and (c) after a selection event initiated on thedevice for a specific resource from the library, providing a second datatransmission to the device, the second data transmission containing acopy of the specific resource.
 2. The method of provisioning a resourceto an electronic device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising thestep of incorporating the access information into a graphical userinterface (GUI) associated with an application operating on the device.3. The method of provisioning a resource to an electronic device asclaimed in claim 2, wherein the application uses the access informationto provide options for retrieving different resources for differentcontexts for the application.
 4. The method of provisioning a resourceto an electronic device as claimed in claim 3, further comprising thestep of storing the copy of the specific resource in internal memory ofthe device and associating the specific resource with an applicationoperating on the device.
 5. The method of provisioning a resource to anelectronic device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the specific resourcerelates to an audible signal selectively generated by the applicationoperating on the device.
 6. The method of provisioning a resource to anelectronic device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the specific resourcerelates to an image to be selectively generated by the applicationoperating on the device.
 7. The method of provisioning a resource to anelectronic device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the specific resourcerelates to a theme for backgrounds relating to displays generated by theapplication operating on the device.
 8. The method of provisioning aresource to an electronic device as claimed in claim 6, wherein a secondlibrary of resources is maintained; the device has access to the secondlibrary and has second access information relating to the secondlibrary; and the GUI operating on the device displays the accessinformation and the second access information in an order based on aranking scheme.
 9. The method of provisioning a resource to anelectronic device as claimed in claim 6, wherein third accessinformation differing from the access information, but related to thelibrary of resources, is provided to a second device.
 10. A system forprovisioning a resource to an electronic device, comprising: a libraryof resources for the device; a server providing maintenance for thelibrary; a communication link providing the device with access to thelibrary; a data transmission module for extracting access informationabout the library and selectively providing the access information tothe device in a data transmission through the communication link; and adata processing module for receiving the data transmission and updatingaccess information in the device for the resource, wherein after atriggering event, the data transmission module provides the accessinformation to the device; after a selection event initiated on thedevice for a specific resource from the library, the system provides asecond data transmission to the device, the second data transmissioncontaining a copy of the specific resource; and the device incorporatesthe specific resource into a graphical user interface (GUI) associatedwith an application operating on the device.
 11. The system forprovisioning a resource to an electronic device as claimed in claim 10,wherein the application uses the access information to provide optionsfor retrieving different resources for different contexts for theapplication.
 12. The system for provisioning a resource to an electronicdevice as claimed in claim 11, wherein the device stores the copy of thespecific resource in its internal memory and associates the specificresource with the application operating on the device.
 13. The systemfor provisioning a resource to an electronic device as claimed in claim12, wherein the specific resource relates to an audible signalselectively generated by the application operating on the device. 14.The system for provisioning a resource to an electronic device asclaimed in claim 12, wherein the specific resource relates to an imageto be selectively generated by the application operating on the device.15. The system for provisioning a resource to an electronic device asclaimed in claim 12, wherein the specific resource relates to a themefor backgrounds relating to displays generated by the applicationoperating on the device.
 16. The system for provisioning a resource toan electronic device as claimed in claim 12, further comprising a secondlibrary of resources, wherein the device has access to the secondlibrary and has second access information relating to the secondlibrary; and the GUI operating on the device displays the accessinformation and the second access information in an order based on aranking scheme.
 17. The system for provisioning a resource to anelectronic device as claimed in claim 14, further comprising thirdaccess information differing from the access information, but related tothe library of resources, that is provided to a second electronicdevice.